


The Inner Circle

by UniversalMasquerade



Category: Shameless (US)
Genre: I don't know why I wrote it but here it is, Mention of violence / child abuse, Original Character - Freeform, Other
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-06-03
Updated: 2014-06-09
Packaged: 2018-02-03 07:06:42
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,402
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1735583
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/UniversalMasquerade/pseuds/UniversalMasquerade
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Miranda Milkovich has her own reasons for hating Mickey's father Terry. After years without seeing each other, and a mere couple of months after Mickey came out, Miranda decides to non-only take his side, but is going to tell him why.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Drunken Mistakes

Miranda Milkovich was sitting on the couch munching on doridos and playing a video game with a little too much aggression when she heard the news. Her father, Rex, answered the phone after its forth ring.

"Hey Terry .... That's great! .... Well fuck, I better let the boys know, we oughta celebrate. Can't keep you in the slammer for too long, can they?"

Miranda bit down on her tongue, missing the clip she had in her mouth. Her heart went from its casual beat to the rapid pace of I-just-ran-a-fucking-marathon. It's been a couple of months since Mickey Milkovich came out in front of everyone at the local bar, and Terry was furious. Most of the family was split on the issue, some didn't give a flying fuck, and some sided with Terry and his views on the matter. Miranda and her father a part of the first group, however, Rex kept his opinion to primarily himself in order to maintain his friendship with his homophobic brother. Gaining knowledge that her uncle was getting out made her fear for her cousin, and filled her with so much dread herself that she felt like she had to vomit.

Mandy and Mickey lived a couple of blocks down from their property, just passed the El. She didn't give herself time to internally debate, instead she grabbed her keys from the coffee table and sprinted to the door.

"Goin' out!" Miranda shouted.

"Fetch some weed while you're at it!" Rex replied. She shut the door behind her.

It took 3 minutes to get to their house. She hadn't been there in a long-ass time, and for good reasons. Their yard was tackier than she recalled, but it wasn't much different than her own. It could have been worse. The clock was 2:12 when she pulled up, and it extended to 2:17 when she eventually got out of her car. Her black combat boots caused the porch steps to creak in protest as she made her way up, but at this point she didn't give a damn about being quiet. It wasn't her style anyway. Taking a deep breath, she knocked on the door forcefully until a disgruntled Mickey answered it.

"What the fuck - " he adjusted his eyes. He looked exhausted, as if he hadn't slept in ages. "Miri?"

"Let me in, asshole." Mickey couldn't help but stare at the large gap where four teeth should have been on the right side of her mouth. 'Fight in the group home,' she told people. They were adult teeth, so they'll never grow back, and she never thought of wasting the money to replace them.

Mickey glanced behind him, then turned back to his cousin. "We ain't willing to deal with any visitors right now. Got enough shit to deal with without you - "

"We'll talk out here. It's fuckin' important."

'It's important.' Those words are usually uttered by a Milkovich when some serious shit is going down. With a sigh and a slight nod, he agreed. He didn't seem to have much energy to fight about it. Something must really be draining him. It's been years since they've seen each other, but she still expected the same old remark that she 'looked like a dyke.' She didn't receive it, not this time.

"Just a sec." He retreated inside, leaving the door slightly ajar. His voice still managed to carry its way to Miranda's ears.

"I'll be right back, okay Tough Guy? Shouldn't take too long."

Nobody answered. In the background Miranda could vaguely hear a woman muttering Russian. Mickey's wife, she assumed.

"Fiona said that she'll be over tonight after her shift. It'll be okay, alright?"

"... okay."

A bit of silence fell between him and the boy she figured was his boyfriend. Miranda wondered what the hell was going on.

"Mandy, make sure he takes his meds if I ain't back in by three."

"Got it Mick. Who's at the door?"

"Miri."

"...Miri's here?"

"That's what I just said, dipshit." Mickey retorted, but his voice held no venom. The door finally opened wide and Mickey emerged with a freshly lit cigarette between his fingers. His expression screamed 'stressed to the max.' They both sat down, passing the cigarette back and forth.

"So what's goin' on in there?"

"None of your fuckin' business, that's what. Now what's so fuckin' important?"

She took a drag, releasing the smoke into the air. She passed it back to him.

"Terry's getting outta jail."

Mickey got 'the look' when she said it. She knew that look too well. Absolute terror in its raw, unmasked form. He used to hide 'the look' when they were kids, but Miranda always knew. "Had to tell you. Ain't sure when, but it'll be soon."

"Shit," he murmured, more to himself than to his company. "Shit.."

His body language revealed what he wouldn't express verbally. Once the cigarette was finished, he lit up a new one with a tremor in his hand. He kept readjusting himself and biting his lip - his signature nervous tick.

"He can't. Fuck, not now."

"Look man, I don't know what's goin' on with you and your boytoy in there - " he gave her a death glare at the usage of the word 'boytoy,' "but I'll be here and shit. You can hide out at my place, or someone else's - I've got connections. Mandy always went to our aunt's place to lie low when Terry was worked up, didn't she?"

"We ain't running this time." He sounded unsure, but continued. "We don't need your fuckin' charity."

"It ain't charity, it's family helping family."

"Terry's your family too." Mickey seemed genuinely confused about her offer. Is he that used to people being against him?

"Terry is a fucking prick, Mickey.."

"Everyone knows that. Most people don't seem to wanna cross with him, why do you? Why do you give a damn? You haven't been around here in years, we haven't heard from you or nothin.' Why the fuck bother now?"

Miranda didn't know what came over her, but seeing her cousin doubt her resentments, seeing him so ran down and still fearful of that bastard father of his, gave her encouragement to speak up about something she's kept in the dark for almost a decade.

She opened her mouth. "See my teeth..?"

"You mean lack of? How can I not?"

"I didn't lose them at the group home."

Mickey said nothing, but rubbed his lip with his thumb. He probably didn't want to know what happened, but Miranda was on a roll.

"..Remember when my brother and I went over to your house for the Forth of July? We were like, eleven right? The both of us? God, it was fun at first.. as fun as Milkovich get-together's can get, anyway.. That was the time I had my hair chopped up to my ear. People were giving me shit about it, even you, but fuck if I cared. We were out in the yard shooting fireworks and crap on fire while the grown ups were inside doin' whatever. We were out later than everyone else, us two didn't get back in until what, one? Two? We stayed out because we didn't want to put up with our parents drunken asses," she laughed to lighten the mood and to cover up the tears that were threatening to form.

"Most of the folks left, the few remaining were passed out in the living room. You decided to go to bed, but I was thirsty and went into the kitchen to get a drink. I grabbed a glass and poured in Mountain Dew.. but I tripped over my own damn feet and it shattered on the floor. Fuck," was she crying? Shit! She rubbed her eyes with the sleeve of her black jacket. "It was uh, it was so loud that I'm surprised it didn't wake the whole lot up.. only one person did. Terry."

Mickey closed his eyes, bracing himself for what came next. He didn't tell her to 'shut the fuck up,' so she kept going.

"He was so mad.. Oh God, he was so mad.. and far from sober. Next thing I know, I got punched square in the face. I felt my teeth fuckin' crack from the impact of his fist. He just kept swinging and swinging and swinging. My face, my arms, my stomach, my back.. Hitting me over and over till I was curled up on the goddamn floor sobbing and begging the fucker to stop. Nobody woke up. No one. I thought he was gonna kill me. .. I blacked out, and when I woke up he was sleeping on the couch like it was nothin.' I walked to the bathroom even though it hurt to move and inspected the damage. My face was covered in bruises, blood gushing from under my right eye. I spat out my teeth in the toilet before puking because of how shitty my stomach felt after he used it as a punching bag.

"I went home before anyone woke up, not wanting to get in trouble ..not wanting anyone to ask questions. When Dad came home, I told him I got jumped. A chick was coming from child protection, so Dad had me wash up what I could. I was pulled out anyway though, the place still rank of weed. I told her the same story when she pointed out how beat up I looked - I got jumped. That ain't the worst part though. The real kicker? ..Terry thought I was you."

"Jesus." Mickey looked as though he was going to be sick. He rubbed his face with his hands, unable to pretend that he didn't hear what she told him.

"I guess it was my hair that made him think that.. He kept shouting the meanest shit. 'Really messed up now, Mick!' 'Good-for-nothing piece of shit!' 'Get your shit together Mickey!' ..To think that was what you came home to makes me sick. I mean, we've all got issues at home and junk, but Jesus Christ Mickey. That's why I never came back here. Why I didn't go to your wedding. That's why I think you coming out was the most kickass thing you've ever done."

If he ever had dry eyes, they certainly weren't dry now. He kept wiping his eyes before any tears could spill out. Mickey didn't do crying, not in front of people.

"So like I said man, I'll be here. For you, Mandy, your boyfriend -" he gave her another glare, but it wasn't really hostile at all. Either way, it made her laugh until her sides hurt.

They shared one last cigarette in silence before they finally got to their feet. Mickey was constantly staring at the door, then at the street as if Terry will come strutting across it with a machine gun.

"We'll figure something out, not everyone in the family hates you after all. ..Kay?"

He was eyeing the door. She punched him on the shoulder roughly.

"What the fuck!"

"Kay?" she repeated.

"Yes, yeah, okay, I heard you. Fuck." For a split second, Miranda could have sworn that she saw a smile creep onto Mickey's lips before he formed them back into their usual scowl.

"I'll call you when I find out when he'll be let out," she climbed down the stairs and turned to her car. "Before I go, what's going on with your guy?"

"Bad day," he said. He rubbed the back of his head. Miranda was about to get into the vehicle. "Um, thanks, by the way."

"No prob." She smiled widely. "By the way man, relevant or not, if you can come out so can I. I'm bi. Plus, I've seen your wife at the Alibi a couple of times.. she's fucking hot."

He looked perplexed. Really, really, really perplexed. It provoked another fit of laughter before she finally shut her car door.

"So you really are a bit of a dyke!" he shouted. "Mandy owes me fifty bucks!"

"Fuck you!" she returned, smiling wide. He gave her a half-assed wave before retreating inside. She pulled out and drove on the route to home. Per usual, she had the rock station playing at the highest volume, and was thinking of anyone in the family she could call in order to help Mickey's crew out. She also made a mental note on who to avoid altogether. As she did, she noticed that she felt lighter. For once in a long time, it was as if a heavy burden was lifted off of her shoulders.


	2. The Meeting

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Miranda regains entry into her cousin's inner circle after being separated for 7 years. In the process, she meets Ian Gallagher, who is still in the early stages of a rough recovery, as well as Svetlana. 
> 
> (This was a very poorly written chapter in my opinion, very messy..)

Miri's first instinct after getting word of Terry's release date was to contact Mickey immediately. She gained his number, Mandy's number, and even Svetlana's number from a list her father keeps. The man had every Milkovich's digits documented. The only problem remaining was Faye Milkovich, who came home buzzed as fuck and with unquestionable determination to hog the only phone their family currently owned. No threats or begging deterred Faye from her drunken psychobabble and relentless gossiping.

At some point during the night, Miri passed out on the couch, waiting for her mother to loosen her grip on the phone. When she woke up, it was nearing 5am, and to her relief, Faye was asleep in the lazy boy. The phone was free, and she took her chance.

"Four days, starting today."

"...What?" Judging by the slur in his voice, it was clear that she had woken him up with her call. _At least the fucker was finally getting some sleep_ , Miri thought.

"Terry. His release date. Four days."

"Fuck." Now he was awake.

"So what are we gonna do?" There was a pause. Miri noticed that the sun had just begun to rise, as its light leaked through the living room blinds.

"Jesus Christ, Miranda. I don't fucking know - "

"Yo, how much sleep did you get?" Mickey groaned on the other end.

"God, even at the break of dawn you're runnin' your mouth. Just get your ass over here." 

Can do. 

_

 

It was Mandy who opened the door. Miri wondered if she was asked by Mickey to watch for her so she wouldn't pound on the door again. Regardless, seeing Mandy provoked a wide smile, revealing the spot where four teeth should have been.

"Haven't seen you in ages," Mandy said. She returned a less elaborate grin. "Jeez, you're more punked out than I remember."

"Seven years does that to a person. It's good to see you again, bed wetter." 

"One fuckin' time and you never forget." She rolled her eyes and ushered her older cousin inside. The place was dark, and smelled of tobacco but surprisingly nothing more potent. It was quiet, not even the TV was on. Their home had never appeared so peaceful, even if it was just the calm before the storm. Mickey was sitting on their couch, and next to him, a red haired boy with his head on Mickey's shoulder. _Ian_ _._

"Hey." She greeted. Ian looked up, his head no longer leaning against Mickey. Her cousin seemed frazzled, but less so than he would have been in the past if he were caught doing anything remotely 'gay' with another male. Instead of flipping out, he simply readjusted, his hand resting on Ian's thigh. Non only was it a shock to see him display public affection, but any affection at all. "Hey." He replied. 

"Well holy shit, at long last I meet the boyfriend. Ian, yeah?" 

"Yeah." The red head smiled, sort of smitten. He must have been feeling a little better.  _And God, he's got the love bug bad._ "Miranda?" 

"Yep, I'm sure Mickey here told you horror stories." 

"You were the one that set the yard on fire, right?" 

" _Accidentally._ " She corrected. "I was trying to shoot off a rocket Iggy made. He was pissed.." 

Ian laughed. Mickey sighed. "You also dyed three sets of Mickey's clothes pink?"

"Who the  _fuck_ told you about that?" 

"Mandy." 

Mandy darted out of the room with a little bounce in her step, clearly without any guilt, and into the kitchen. "You looked shitty in pink. Weren't even paying attention when you put um' on. Good thing we've got a shitload of brothers to get hand-me-downs from." The clanking of pans attracted Miri's hearing. "Hey Miri, how do you like your eggs?" 

Miri glanced in that direction, then immediately regretted it. The kitchen hadn't changed at all. The furniture, the coloring, the tiles, the clutter, almost everything was in sync with what happened 7 years prior. Unless you counted the lack of blood on the floor, it was way too familiar for Miri's comfort. She could feel herself hyperventilating, her thoughts began to scream  _run run run run run run -_

" _Miranda_." Mandy repeated. Miri turned to her right to see Ian and Mickey staring.

"Uh - " she shook her head, refusing to look into the kitchen again. "Scrambled." 

"...Alright, scrambled eggs coming right up." Her tone wavered, perhaps in concern.  

" _You._ " Mickey pointed to the chair across from them, looking at Miri. "Sit." 

She did, realizing that her entire body was shaking. It made her feel weak and it pissed her the fuck off. Miri knew that she was far from over what happened, but it bothered her every time she reacted in this way. When someone is scared, there's fight and flight - she chose flight, and she wondered if things would have been better if she fought.

"You okay?" It was Ian who asked. Mickey already knew everything. Clearly he hadn't told him, or Mandy for that matter, about the incident with Terry. She appreciated that. 

"Yeah.. just a little jittery." 

Ian gave her a look.  _What? Don't believe me?_

"So.. I heard you had a bad day yesterday." Miri continued. Mickey rubbed his temples and muttered under his breath, something he had always done when she blurted out. 

"Oh." 

"You doin' better?" 

"..A little, yeah." He sounded unsure. Miri raised an eyebrow.  _Was he depressed or something?_

"Kay, here you are." Mandy handed Miri a plate of eggs, then Ian. She proceeded to sit next to her with her own plate full. 

"Where the fuck's mine?" Mickey demanded.

"Your legs broken or somethin'? Get your own." Mandy retorted, forming a smirk with her lips. "Ian, you hungry? You haven't eaten in awh-"

" _Baby is sleeping. What is with noise?_ " A woman that Miri recognized walked into the living room, her red hair tied into a loose bun and her pink robe dragging against the floor as she moved. Her eyes focused on the strange company, taking in the youth draped all in black. "Who's this?" 

"Svetlana?" Miri said, testing the name on her tongue. "I'm Miranda, Mickey and Mandy's cousin." 

_Yep, she's still hot._

"Hmm. So it was your voice I hear. Yevgeny is sleeping, took forever to get him to rest." 

"Oooh! Your baby! I wanna see him!" 

" _No._ " Mickey and Svetlana said at once. Moments later, Svetlana excused herself by claiming that she was far from a morning person. 

When everyone finished their breakfast, and after Mickey finally got off his ass to get himself some, there was no more beating around the bush. Miri's primary reason for being there was finally brought to light. Mickey, Mandy, and Svetlana were all aware of Terry's release by this point, but Ian had not been informed. Miri assumed that it was due to his "bad day." She suspected he had a lot of bad days, by the way the lot was handling it earlier. Sensing Ian's negative reaction, Mickey grabbed a hold of Ian's hand and said immediately following that "we ain't going anywhere." 

"Seriously Mick? You had to keep this from me like I'm some fucking child? When is he getting out?" 

"Thursday." Miri replied. 

" _Fuck_." Ian rubbed his head. "..Can things just stay right?" 

Miri remembered the story her father came home with the night Mickey came out. How a certain red head was right there fighting with him, punching Terry repeatedly, and everyone involved was soaked in blood as a result of the beat down. Some serious shit had to have gone down with Ian, Mickey, and Terry - more than that night. Miri sensed it. She decided that she really liked Ian Gallagher.

"Well, if the police won't keep him over the shit he's pulled before," Miri said, "then maybe we should find a new crime for him to break." 

 

 

 


End file.
